I rolled my '60. Spun over twice, landed on it's wheels with the engine running and with Hendrix on the 8 track singing the lyrics "I'll know when to die when it's time for me to die". (from Easy Rider soundtrack). Got out, pulled the wheel wells from rubbing on the tires and drove off. It lasted another two weeks until the trans axle went.
+ Charlie Esor ....and also from "If 6 Was 9" from "Axis: Bold As Love" from The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967). A classic, highly recommended!!! As for the VW Bus, I myself am the proud owner of a 1963 VW Bus, it's a Kombi, just like the test Bus they use in this clip, and it angers me when Government groups (State or Federal, they're all the same, fuck 'em all!!!) start to rig a "test" on a VW (or any other import) vehicle to make it fail in order to make a political statement, that is what this clip was, plain and simple, this was an anti-hippie, anti-peace-movement piece of far-right-wing propaganda used to scare the American public into not buying one of these beauties. I dare them to try this very same test on the Chevy Van that was utilized in this clip and rig it in the same way they did to the VW Bus, and then let's see what happens!!! Or, better yet, to make it more fair, try one of the vintage air-cooled Chevy Corvan/Greenbrier vans they made from 1960-66 and rig it up like they did to the VW Bus!!! Shit will hit the fan BIG-TIME when they do!!!
+Ray Jackson Nope, not as bad as the VW. Yes, the Chevy vans were not exactly safe either but they didn't roll over at 18-20 mph, not even the Greenbrier did that. I have to laugh at your conspiracy theory. Simply put, all VW's were great cars for the era in which they were meant for, an era where we had "turnpikes" instead of Interstate Highways, where 50 mph was considered highway speed and more often than not it might be 45 instead. It's not impossible or even difficult to make a VW handle safely, or even an old Chevy van for that matter. It's just that in stock configuration their highway manners are a little lacking. It's pointless to shift blame to a Chevy, because head to head the Chevy did handle better. And yes, I've owned both.
I had a 59 VW bus that I rolled onto the passenger side while attempting to do donuts in a field. (What can I say, I was young and dumb.) The 59 model had no seat belts so Me and 3 other guys ended up on the passenger side windows and doors. One of the guys got hit in the head with a tow chain and was kind of woozy so we got the drivers door open, climbed out and rolled the van back onto its wheels, fired it up and I drove to the hospital. I'm now 55 and am amazed that I am still alive after all the moronic things I did over the years.
Chevy Van would've fared worst. Chevy Van has a higher centre of gravity, ie; engine block is considerably higher (and heavier) that the VW and the low centre of gravity flat four light- alloy engine. On the plus side, the Chevy Van has a slightly wider track.
@@bassbaboonmitch Ironic that you think that’s more logical. Considering that an engine powering the back wheels most logically would be at the back to maximize space usage, not waste space with a driveshaft running the entire length of the vehicle into a rear differential, which also uses space. Volkswagen has all its drivetrain components in a space about 25% the length of the bus, the Chevy drivetrain runs about 95% of the vans length. Impractical
I daily drive a 1965 Chevy travel cruiser van with a pop up roof. Only mod is a 600 HP Mercruiser GM 383 crate engine. I've drifted it a couple of times. It's my profile pic.
+C Man Or remove them, if you'll notice, it tried to roll each time they had the 600lb per side outriggers hanging ten feet out for some reason...... Much like Consumer reports did with the suzuki samurai. I'm all about safety, but if you drive like an idiot, you are gonna die like one.
My parents flipped their '59 van soon after purchase in 1959. They bought a '64 and then a '69, all new. I grew up in VW's and driving them, been from easy to west to east again and never had an issue. As a family, we had a VW type 2 from '59 until just a few years ago. In total, 2 '59's, a '64, '67 camper, '68 camper, '69 1 camper 1 van, '70 van and last but not least a '73 camper. Then there was the bugs, only 3 of them though. Great Autos!
My family had a brand new VW bus in 1970. It needed 3 engine rebuilds in 4 yrs. the 3rd time my poor mom was stranded in it she wanted to set it ablaze. Our neighbors had a new 71. They had nothing but engine issues too. These things are garbage.
Survived a rollover in 2009, (dbl door panel) could not tell if it rolled once or twice, after having seen this video, I believe the van rolled once. Had it rolled more than that most likely would have had worse injuries.
This particular car as well as all other T1's left anywhere have been restored to full running condition within this decade, only to be sold for 50.000$ plus.
I was a VW mechanic in the '60, '70s and '80s. Beetles rolled easy, but Kombis would warn well in advance. People loved them, but let's face it, they were awful. I love my LT28 camper though.
The really scary thing about these VW vans was the total lack of any front-end protection. A collision would have the front of the vehicle squishing inwards onto the driver in a split-second. A friend of one of my brothers banged his van into a utility pole in the early 1960s and one of his legs was badly damaged, requiring multiple operations.
What do you mean no front end protection? They have 2 layers of 20 GA sheet metal that can dent a good 2 to 3 inches before injuring the occupants. lol Yea, my neighbors had one. One time their youngest was sleeping in the back & fell out on the highway when the back door latch broke. (he survived, just stitches) They later rolled it on it's side. lol It still ran & they drove it another year. I gotta admit, they were fun but they were death traps in so many ways. I can't imagine even surviving a 20 mph head on in one. In the days of riding in the back of a pickup and letting 9 yo kids run around unsupervised until the street light came on, they were acceptable. I am amazed more of us didn't die back then.
The first generation VW vans (1950-1967) had basically no front end protection. To be honest, nothing was safe in a front crash in the early 1960s. The second generation VW vans (1968-1979) were where they started to pay some attention to front end crash protection, it wasn't much but it was safer than its competitors of the era. The T3 vans (called the Vanagon in the US) (1979-1991) raised the bar significantly, they had a very innovative forked-frame front crush zone and reinforced doors. They were very safe by 1980's standards, but aren't safe by today's standards. December 24, 2019 1:22 am
@@shananagans5yep, good points, that's why I keep putting off swapping out the old split case tranny with a Freeway flier, so I can do 80 and crush my old tin can even more 😂. I'm happy putting around in the T1 at 50mph, but I live out in the country anyways, so what's the hurry?
I think i might have spotted what they've done here? Looks like They disabled the shocks absorption travel! Just watch, theres very little body lean! Also, its being pulled by a "GM" vehicle! So i wonder if this demonstration had anything to do with defending their Corvairs handling issues? I had an old VW Baja, and when i bought it, someone had welded the shocks solid? So whenever i made a mildly quick turn from a stop light turning lane, or even a quick turn into my driveway, it would tip an ride on two wheels. Scared the hell out of me too.
Something looks fishy about this video, the van doesn't seem to have the right ride height and I don't see the normal axle drop when it rolls up onto one side. I drove this style van for over 10 years, I've had various years beginning with a 1955, and ending with a 1967. I never once felt it was about to flip, but I did fear any sort of frontal impact. The newer models were a lot more forgiving but not as cool looking. I'd still be driving them if I didn't decide I wanted things like A/C and heat.
The rear of that bus is not at correct factory ride height, so with swing axles, it is going to be more susceptible to an off-throttle roll-over. The 1968 bus redesign is a totally different animal with fully articulated axles and an engine and transmission that were substantially lowered in the chassis. The Vanagon redesign in 1980 impressed even the folks over at Road & Track and Car & Driver as being a hell of a driver's car once the engine imparted enough eventual momentum to get the thing up to speed.
This is what I believe Mary McFly was trying to achieve in the movie Back to the Future when he kept driving super fast and making one sharp turn after another!!! In reality he would have succeeded but the movie script would not allow that!!! He wanted to cause the VW Van to toppled killing both the driver and the gunner!!! Now he could go back pick up Doc and get him to a hospital if it's not too late!!!!
In the late '60's I was following a VDub bus down an off ramp in Santa Cruz, CA. The guy tried to avoid something ahead and jerked the wheel and got on the brakes. The rear end of that thing started to dance left-right-left-right on the back wheels. He finally got it stopped, and I would guess he visited a gas station restroom to clean out his pants.
they used to ban type 2's from going over some of the san fransico area bridges on windy days , because of their poor directional stability . but i don't know why they conducted rollover tests on them . they will not roll over any easier than its contemporaries , the ford econoline , chevrolet and gmc vans , and the dodge van . and there are two reasons for it . first , the flat-four engine of the vw gives a lower center of gravity than the upright inline or V engines the others used . and i would think the vw's floor is lower than the others because the other vans floor had to be higher to allow the driveshaft to be underneath it . so the cargo load and the passenger load is closer to the ground in the vw . plus the independent suspension gives better handling than the non independent straight front and live rear axles on the american models . if you have better handling it is easier to avoid a rollover in the first place . when i was in my early twenties and was living in a warehouse that belonged to who a guy who had me working on his MG and triumph car collection , in another part of the warehouse there was a retired mechanical engineer and machinist who i befriended . this guy knew just about everything there was to know about cars , and he had even built a small airplane from scratch in there . one day we were talking about cars and he said " you don't build a car to be safe " . i kind of disagree , because it is quite easy to build a certain amount of safety into a vehicle without adding to much weight , with things like a collapsible / energy absorbing steering column , and dual circuit brakes , and seat belts . when the vw transporter was designed around 1948 , car designers did'nt care much about safety . basically all they did to create it was to angle the beetle's steering column up so the driver could be moved father forward in the chassis to allow more cargo room , and square of the body . but i doubt the vw is any less safe than any of the others in any way really
The reason why the vans were unstable in high winds - and this applies to all other rear-engine VW's and probably all rear-engined cars - is that theres no weight at the front making it easy for the winds to blow them off-course.
these guys wrench on their busses and keep them going way more than any of the haters will ever. if it wasn't for them some of those would have been in a junk yard long ago. just think they do this trip every year. how would they be able to if the didn't work on them and keep them going?? and most of them have more than one bus . these are the rigs they do the trip with.
I searched for this because I am forever haunted by that one time I tipped our VW bus on an overpass bridge. The moment on two wheels (driver side) lasted seemingly forever. My 200 lb. passenger and 100 lb. me were leaning against the tip as hard as we could lol to keep it from rolling. It finally righted itself.
Where is the suspension movement? I have a 1978 Westfalia and my bus rides pretty soft. I've have driven a '65 Bus and even it rode pretty good. That test bus looks like the suspension is rigid. FWIW my '78 Westy corners very well for what it is. Lots of body lean but never a rollover. I drive it carefully all the same.
joeaverager i also drive a 78 Westy. I hear alot about fires in buses but never anything about them rolling. I agree with robert franklin's comment, rigged test.
KathySlugabusMcPickles: From the FI hoses? I remember my father's Squareback getting 10MPG for a few days before he figured out where all that extra gasoline was going.
this particular model looks sturdy all around,but that chanting on the song had my mind in the gutter,,,,,,,lol,VW vanagon were underpower,,,,because they were flippers,lol
I never understood this sort of testing done to single out the supposed safety issues in a particular vehicle! Every vehicle ever made has some sort of deficiencies and or safety issues. The Corvair was supposed to be so unsafe...Pintos exploded on rear impact....Chevrolet Vegas rusted while sitting in the showroom and the engine melted as you drove them.... Was this some sort of way to hope to limit flower power and the hippie generation? I knew people who owned these VW buses, you had to be very patient to get to even 23 MPH and 60 was mostly dreaming. Other than being as slow as a turtle they were pretty tough vehicles.
+Don Borgal This testing was being done because so many complaints were coming into the authorities at the time about these vehicles easily rolling over. It wasn't done just with these vehicles, however. Many, many other vehicles were tested as well, which is what led to the first rollover protection standards in the early seventies. Those laws are the reason hardtops don't exist anymore in any real way. It's also the reason most convertible's disappeared in the seventies and have only made minor comebacks here and there since then.
They were garbage. My family bought a brand new one in 1970. 3 engine rebuilds in 4 yrs. Thank God we had a dependable Ford Mustang in the family. The VW lived in the shop. My Mom was stranded in that thing on the LA freeways 3 times in 4 years. The 3rd time she was stranded she wanted to set it ablaze. Most uncomfortable vehicle n the history of the world. Needed constant break adjustments. Tough my ass.
The T1 was a bit special as it was based on the VW Kübelwagen which had Portal-Half Axles or Pendulum Axles. They didn't base it on the Original Beetles as its Chassis couldn't support the Weight, while the Kübelwagen was far more Strong and built for Military Offroading. However, in Top Heavy Vehicles this kind of Suspension, with the Wheels being so far below the Pivot of the Axle, the Outside Wheels had very little Margin of Stability beyond about 10° of Roll and would start to actively assist in the Roll Over by tucking under the Car, raising it up and moving the Wheels further to the Center of the Car. In the T2 and T3 they used the newly Developed Super Beetle Unity Chassis with McPherson Front and Swing Arm Rear Suspension and Neutral Camber. In the T3 they also added an Anti-Sway System and pretty advanced Crash Protection. They had such strong general Construction, together with Volvo, that it caused a bit if a Crisis for many Scrap Yards who didn't have Crushers powerful enough.
Maybe thats why the anti roll bar Was invented to stop this happening! Stop panicking everyone if your van is standard height it's more likely to do this but with the anti roll bar fitted as standard to you van it won't happen! Lots of people who lower there van remove the bar as it hits the ground when you go over a bump but as the van is lowered you don't get the roll :-)
So VW Vans *can* roll over if driven in such a way as to allow it to happen. As long as the occupants inside are safely buckled in, they should be safe and able to escape.
Um, this is why these tin cans were not designed to fly along the freeway at 80 MPH...get a clue, folks✌️😉✌️60 max, stay alive! - what's with the creepy soundtrack, anyways???????
Interesting and obviously a VW bus was never meant for a road course but 16 degrees at barely over 20 MPH ? To me it seems like the angle is greater than 16?
+jim dandy The steering wheel was turned 16 degrees. A 16 degree turn on the steering wheel will produce a far sharper turn of the vehicle then that, especially in a vehicle with a short wheelbase, small wheels and narrow tires.
I owned a '67 bus and it was the worst vehicle I've ever had. I put 100,00mi. on it and blew up 4 engines. It wasn't unsafe at any speed because it couldn't get up any speed. I've often said it was 'Hitler's Revenge'.
This music matches perfectly the pathetic nature of this vehicle,only detail is that it didn't burst in flames after rollover,the tank was probably empty...
What this fails to take into account is that the average hippee in the back of that van was upwards of 250 pounds so the dead weight would have made it far less likely to tip over. Needless to say, that was the WORST vehicle ever built by a European auto maker; People used to have their ankles broken in even MINOR crashes! The later Vanagon was literally 10 times better in a collision!
...looked to me like a bunch of stoner van nerds/bureaucrats taking the state if California for a spin...and are still roaring over their bongs at this footage.
Clearly this is the reason why VW is selling cars like mad in the US and, in the meantime, americrap manufacturers sell two-digit-numbers in Europe. Well, sound logical!
I loved the music in this. Really spoke to me. The part when he says "ooohh blahblah blah hnnnggg" was true poetry.
Moby
I feel it too...
I rolled my '60. Spun over twice, landed on it's wheels with the engine running and with Hendrix on the 8 track singing the lyrics "I'll know when to die when it's time for me to die". (from Easy Rider soundtrack). Got out, pulled the wheel wells from rubbing on the tires and drove off. It lasted another two weeks until the trans axle went.
+ Charlie Esor ....and also from "If 6 Was 9" from "Axis: Bold As Love" from The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967). A classic, highly recommended!!!
As for the VW Bus, I myself am the proud owner of a 1963 VW Bus, it's a Kombi, just like the test Bus they use in this clip, and it angers me when Government groups (State or Federal, they're all the same, fuck 'em all!!!) start to rig a "test" on a VW (or any other import) vehicle to make it fail in order to make a political statement, that is what this clip was, plain and simple, this was an anti-hippie, anti-peace-movement piece of far-right-wing propaganda used to scare the American public into not buying one of these beauties.
I dare them to try this very same test on the Chevy Van that was utilized in this clip and rig it in the same way they did to the VW Bus, and then let's see what happens!!! Or, better yet, to make it more fair, try one of the vintage air-cooled Chevy Corvan/Greenbrier vans they made from 1960-66 and rig it up like they did to the VW Bus!!! Shit will hit the fan BIG-TIME when they do!!!
+Ray Jackson Nope, not as bad as the VW.
Yes, the Chevy vans were not exactly safe either but they didn't roll over at 18-20 mph, not even the Greenbrier did that.
I have to laugh at your conspiracy theory. Simply put, all VW's were great cars for the era in which they were meant for, an era where we had "turnpikes" instead of Interstate Highways, where 50 mph was considered highway speed and more often than not it might be 45 instead.
It's not impossible or even difficult to make a VW handle safely, or even an old Chevy van for that matter.
It's just that in stock configuration their highway manners are a little lacking. It's pointless to shift blame to a Chevy, because head to head the Chevy did handle better.
And yes, I've owned both.
OMG Charlie wherever you are. What a great story.
I had a 59 VW bus that I rolled onto the passenger side while attempting to do donuts in a field. (What can I say, I was young and dumb.) The 59 model had no seat belts so Me and 3 other guys ended up on the passenger side windows and doors. One of the guys got hit in the head with a tow chain and was kind of woozy so we got the drivers door open, climbed out and rolled the van back onto its wheels, fired it up and I drove to the hospital. I'm now 55 and am amazed that I am still alive after all the moronic things I did over the years.
gorp27 Did your friend that got hit with the chain come out OK without any lasting injury?
Marshall Curtis He just got a big lump that went away after a few days, no permanant damage.
+gorp27 wow interesting story!
"amazed that I am still alive after all the moronic things I did over the years"
LOL - I can relate to that.
Jijiji cool story
How many vehicles can roll onto the roof and not break any glass?
"Doctor, it hurts when I do this."
"Stop doing that."
I would be curious how that Chevy van used to tow the VW van would have fared with those exact same tests.
+Marshall Curtis better... heavier, engine in a more logical place, longer wheelbase, flipped axles.
Chevy Van would've fared worst. Chevy Van has a higher centre of gravity, ie; engine block is considerably higher (and heavier) that the VW and the low centre of gravity flat four light- alloy engine. On the plus side, the Chevy Van has a slightly wider track.
I can answer that: Lots Better
@@bassbaboonmitch Ironic that you think that’s more logical. Considering that an engine powering the back wheels most logically would be at the back to maximize space usage, not waste space with a driveshaft running the entire length of the vehicle into a rear differential, which also uses space. Volkswagen has all its drivetrain components in a space about 25% the length of the bus, the Chevy drivetrain runs about 95% of the vans length. Impractical
I daily drive a 1965 Chevy travel cruiser van with a pop up roof. Only mod is a 600 HP Mercruiser GM 383 crate engine. I've drifted it a couple of times. It's my profile pic.
Obviously the fix is to put the outrigger wheels on the thing. Problem solved
+C Man Or remove them, if you'll notice, it tried to roll each time they had the 600lb per side outriggers hanging ten feet out for some reason...... Much like Consumer reports did with the suzuki samurai. I'm all about safety, but if you drive like an idiot, you are gonna die like one.
+JimsEquipmentShed I seriously doubt that those flimsy outriggers weighed 600 lbs each and they sure didn't hang out 10 ft .
1unsafe1
Ok, they are shorter, and weigh less, but my argument is still valid, drive like an idiot, and you will crash like one.
My parents flipped their '59 van soon after purchase in 1959. They bought a '64 and then a '69, all new. I grew up in VW's and driving them, been from easy to west to east again and never had an issue. As a family, we had a VW type 2 from '59 until just a few years ago. In total, 2 '59's, a '64, '67 camper, '68 camper, '69 1 camper 1 van, '70 van and last but not least a '73 camper. Then there was the bugs, only 3 of them though. Great Autos!
My family had a brand new VW bus in 1970. It needed 3 engine rebuilds in 4 yrs. the 3rd time my poor mom was stranded in it she wanted to set it ablaze. Our neighbors had a new 71. They had nothing but engine issues too. These things are garbage.
@@FRANCIS6189 you are gay
Survived a rollover in 2009, (dbl door panel) could not tell if it rolled once or twice, after having seen this video, I believe the van rolled once. Had it rolled more than that most likely would have had worse injuries.
oh man, I'm glad that hasn't happened to us...yet!
Roof held up pretty well in the roll, I have to say.
This particular car as well as all other T1's left anywhere have been restored to full running condition within this decade, only to be sold for 50.000$ plus.
I was a VW mechanic in the '60, '70s and '80s. Beetles rolled easy, but Kombis would warn well in advance. People loved them, but let's face it, they were awful. I love my LT28 camper though.
Just driven mine Johannesburg Cape Town and back for a wedding. About 4000Kms in a week, not bad for a car more than half a century old.
and after 50 years Toyota finally caught up and produced the Hi-Lux that will also fall over when doing a sharp turn.
So they proved that you shouldn't try doing a U turn at 18 mph in a 1950's designed van. Good one.
Creepy music. Waiting on some zombies to show up.
Spennyman10 lmfao
Training wheels......hell yeah! I bet the Chevy van woulda acted about the same.
The really scary thing about these VW vans was the total lack of any front-end protection. A collision would have the front of the vehicle squishing inwards onto the driver in a split-second. A friend of one of my brothers banged his van into a utility pole in the early 1960s and one of his legs was badly damaged, requiring multiple operations.
What do you mean no front end protection? They have 2 layers of 20 GA sheet metal that can dent a good 2 to 3 inches before injuring the occupants. lol
Yea, my neighbors had one. One time their youngest was sleeping in the back & fell out on the highway when the back door latch broke. (he survived, just stitches) They later rolled it on it's side. lol It still ran & they drove it another year.
I gotta admit, they were fun but they were death traps in so many ways. I can't imagine even surviving a 20 mph head on in one.
In the days of riding in the back of a pickup and letting 9 yo kids run around unsupervised until the street light came on, they were acceptable. I am amazed more of us didn't die back then.
The first generation VW vans (1950-1967) had basically no front end protection. To be honest, nothing was safe in a front crash in the early 1960s.
The second generation VW vans (1968-1979) were where they started to pay some attention to front end crash protection, it wasn't much but it was safer than its competitors of the era.
The T3 vans (called the Vanagon in the US) (1979-1991) raised the bar significantly, they had a very innovative forked-frame front crush zone and reinforced doors. They were very safe by 1980's standards, but aren't safe by today's standards.
December 24, 2019 1:22 am
@@whattheheck1000 You are correct! The VW Vanagon would kill a volvo driver whilst only scratching its driver in a head on!
@@shananagans5yep, good points, that's why I keep putting off swapping out the old split case tranny with a Freeway flier, so I can do 80 and crush my old tin can even more 😂. I'm happy putting around in the T1 at 50mph, but I live out in the country anyways, so what's the hurry?
Tragic. If they were that dangerous then how come there are still so many of them around?
The bus is at correct hight, they have just cut way the rear guards to gain access easy. All the correct suspension has been used for the testing!!
michael agnello bhahahaha
.
This seems to be a good test of what happens when you jerk the steering wheel instead of turning properly
I think i might have spotted what they've done here? Looks like They disabled the shocks absorption travel! Just watch, theres very little body lean! Also, its being pulled by a "GM" vehicle! So i wonder if this demonstration had anything to do with defending their Corvairs handling issues? I had an old VW Baja, and when i bought it, someone had welded the shocks solid? So whenever i made a mildly quick turn from a stop light turning lane, or even a quick turn into my driveway, it would tip an ride on two wheels. Scared the hell out of me too.
Something looks fishy about this video, the van doesn't seem to have the right ride height and I don't see the normal axle drop when it rolls up onto one side.
I drove this style van for over 10 years, I've had various years beginning with a 1955, and ending with a 1967. I never once felt it was about to flip, but I did fear any sort of frontal impact.
The newer models were a lot more forgiving but not as cool looking. I'd still be driving them if I didn't decide I wanted things like A/C and heat.
The rear of that bus is not at correct factory ride height, so with swing axles, it is going to be more susceptible to an off-throttle roll-over. The 1968 bus redesign is a totally different animal with fully articulated axles and an engine and transmission that were substantially lowered in the chassis. The Vanagon redesign in 1980 impressed even the folks over at Road & Track and Car & Driver as being a hell of a driver's car once the engine imparted enough eventual momentum to get the thing up to speed.
Interesting footage. Blessed be the mute button!
I watched this so many times I snapped and beat my toaster with a hammer.
+C Man BWAhhhh ha! B-)
This is what I believe Mary McFly was trying to achieve in the movie Back to the Future when he kept driving super fast and making one sharp turn after another!!! In reality he would have succeeded but the movie script would not allow that!!! He wanted to cause the VW Van to toppled killing both the driver and the gunner!!! Now he could go back pick up Doc and get him to a hospital if it's not too late!!!!
In the late '60's I was following a VDub bus down an off ramp in Santa Cruz, CA. The guy tried to avoid something ahead and jerked the wheel and got on the brakes. The rear end of that thing started to dance left-right-left-right on the back wheels. He finally got it stopped, and I would guess he visited a gas station restroom to clean out his pants.
they used to ban type 2's from going over some of the san fransico area bridges on windy days , because of their poor directional stability . but i don't know why they conducted rollover tests on them . they will not roll over any easier than its contemporaries , the ford econoline , chevrolet and gmc vans , and the dodge van . and there are two reasons for it . first , the flat-four engine of the vw gives a lower center of gravity than the upright inline or V engines the others used . and i would think the vw's floor is lower than the others because the other vans floor had to be higher to allow the driveshaft to be underneath it . so the cargo load and the passenger load is closer to the ground in the vw . plus the independent suspension gives better handling than the non independent straight front and live rear axles on the american models . if you have better handling it is easier to avoid a rollover in the first place . when i was in my early twenties and was living in a warehouse that belonged to who a guy who had me working on his MG and triumph car collection , in another part of the warehouse there was a retired mechanical engineer and machinist who i befriended . this guy knew just about everything there was to know about cars , and he had even built a small airplane from scratch in there . one day we were talking about cars and he said " you don't build a car to be safe " . i kind of disagree , because it is quite easy to build a certain amount of safety into a vehicle without adding to much weight , with things like a collapsible / energy absorbing steering column , and dual circuit brakes , and seat belts . when the vw transporter was designed around 1948 , car designers did'nt care much about safety . basically all they did to create it was to angle the beetle's steering column up so the driver could be moved father forward in the chassis to allow more cargo room , and square of the body . but i doubt the vw is any less safe than any of the others in any way really
The reason why the vans were unstable in high winds - and this applies to all other rear-engine VW's and probably all rear-engined cars - is that theres no weight at the front making it easy for the winds to blow them off-course.
these guys wrench on their busses and keep them going way more than any of the haters will ever. if it wasn't for them some of those would have been in a junk yard long ago. just think they do this trip every year. how would they be able to if the didn't work on them and keep them going?? and most of them have more than one bus . these are the rigs they do the trip with.
I searched for this because I am forever haunted by that one time I tipped our VW bus on an overpass bridge. The moment on two wheels (driver side) lasted seemingly forever. My 200 lb. passenger and 100 lb. me were leaning against the tip as hard as we could lol to keep it from rolling. It finally righted itself.
Where is the suspension movement? I have a 1978 Westfalia and my bus rides pretty soft. I've have driven a '65 Bus and even it rode pretty good. That test bus looks like the suspension is rigid.
FWIW my '78 Westy corners very well for what it is. Lots of body lean but never a rollover. I drive it carefully all the same.
joeaverager Rigged test.
joeaverager i also drive a 78 Westy. I hear alot about fires in buses but never anything about them rolling. I agree with robert franklin's comment, rigged test.
+joeaverager
This test was conducted , immobilizing the suspension , with the original vehicle and running, there would be , roll over !
KathySlugabusMcPickles: From the FI hoses? I remember my father's Squareback getting 10MPG for a few days before he figured out where all that extra gasoline was going.
Yours prob has very old shocks and torsion beam
this particular model looks sturdy all around,but that chanting on the song had my mind in the gutter,,,,,,,lol,VW vanagon were underpower,,,,because they were flippers,lol
Theres a video title (520hp VW Van) I believe they have bumped up the roll over over speed a bit.
Owned many VW bugs from the 60's and 70's and I see the bus rolls easier than the Corvair
Yeah, they were definitely unstable.
my cat says these tests conclude that VW vans need f1 protruding tyres to improve stability 🐱👍🏿
cool old films
Tis why we all lowwer them by 4 to 6inches narrow the beam, fit anti roll bars and coil over suspension.
My how tech has changed
Nice Royalty-free remix of Clubbed to Death...
Where was Ralph Nader, in a Covair? I don't recall this being designated "Unsafe..." - but I wasn't born yet.
I used to own one, Don't drive it like an idiot, and it's not a problem.
Brilliant; love the music, and the computer monolog. Silly Volkswagons.
I never understood this sort of testing done to single out the supposed safety issues in a particular vehicle! Every vehicle ever made has some sort of deficiencies and or safety issues. The Corvair was supposed to be so unsafe...Pintos exploded on rear impact....Chevrolet Vegas rusted while sitting in the showroom and the engine melted as you drove them.... Was this some sort of way to hope to limit flower power and the hippie generation? I knew people who owned these VW buses, you had to be very patient to get to even 23 MPH and 60 was mostly dreaming. Other than being as slow as a turtle they were pretty tough vehicles.
+Don Borgal This testing was being done because so many complaints were coming into the authorities at the time about these vehicles easily rolling over. It wasn't done just with these vehicles, however. Many, many other vehicles were tested as well, which is what led to the first rollover protection standards in the early seventies. Those laws are the reason hardtops don't exist anymore in any real way. It's also the reason most convertible's disappeared in the seventies and have only made minor comebacks here and there since then.
They were garbage. My family bought a brand new one in 1970. 3 engine rebuilds in 4 yrs. Thank God we had a dependable Ford Mustang in the family. The VW lived in the shop. My Mom was stranded in that thing on the LA freeways 3 times in 4 years. The 3rd time she was stranded she wanted to set it ablaze. Most uncomfortable vehicle n the history of the world. Needed constant break adjustments. Tough my ass.
@@FRANCIS6189 it is tough if you know how to drive it
The T1 was a bit special as it was based on the VW Kübelwagen which had Portal-Half Axles or Pendulum Axles. They didn't base it on the Original Beetles as its Chassis couldn't support the Weight, while the Kübelwagen was far more Strong and built for Military Offroading.
However, in Top Heavy Vehicles this kind of Suspension, with the Wheels being so far below the Pivot of the Axle, the Outside Wheels had very little Margin of Stability beyond about 10° of Roll and would start to actively assist in the Roll Over by tucking under the Car, raising it up and moving the Wheels further to the Center of the Car.
In the T2 and T3 they used the newly Developed Super Beetle Unity Chassis with McPherson Front and Swing Arm Rear Suspension and Neutral Camber.
In the T3 they also added an Anti-Sway System and pretty advanced Crash Protection. They had such strong general Construction, together with Volvo, that it caused a bit if a Crisis for many Scrap Yards who didn't have Crushers powerful enough.
I wonder what the hell they did with this bus, l'd like to restore it....dam! I love these things....
Interesting video. It is safer not to turn at all in our buses :) Sub+cheers from Poland.
Love the music.
Maybe thats why the anti roll bar Was invented to stop this happening! Stop panicking everyone if your van is standard height it's more likely to do this but with the anti roll bar fitted as standard to you van it won't happen! Lots of people who lower there van remove the bar as it hits the ground when you go over a bump but as the van is lowered you don't get the roll :-)
So VW Vans *can* roll over if driven in such a way as to allow it to happen. As long as the occupants inside are safely buckled in, they should be safe and able to escape.
No Seatbelts, no Safety Door Locks, no Safety Glass, All Metal Interior.
Music sounds like a discount version of "Clubbed to Death".
This song sounds really similar to "Clubbed to Death" from the matrix soundtrack..
Looked like the van was raised in height all the way around. Lower it one to two inches and test again!
I noticed the same thing, thank you.
Whats name of music?
Um, this is why these tin cans were not designed to fly along the freeway at 80 MPH...get a clue, folks✌️😉✌️60 max, stay alive!
- what's with the creepy soundtrack, anyways???????
What? No best selling book exposing the lethality of the VW micro bus..??
Of course not. They were perfectly safe. Only thing was in a head on collision most times the front seat passengers lost their legs. So ya, no biggie.
Big surprise. A bus with no driver controlling steering and braking can roll over. I blame the cut wheel wells.
sufficed to say, never take a corner at over 10 mph thats more than 45 degrees
hey, where'd ya get the "Sasquatch Does Disco" soundtrack anyways ?!
Interesting and obviously a VW bus was never meant for a road course but 16 degrees at barely over 20 MPH ?
To me it seems like the angle is greater than 16?
+jim dandy The steering wheel was turned 16 degrees. A 16 degree turn on the steering wheel will produce a far sharper turn of the vehicle then that, especially in a vehicle with a short wheelbase, small wheels and narrow tires.
Putting outriggers on a VW van is a great idea.
Why did they take the training wheels off?
I owned a '67 bus and it was the worst vehicle I've ever had. I put 100,00mi. on it and blew up 4 engines. It wasn't unsafe at any speed because it couldn't get up any speed. I've often said it was 'Hitler's Revenge'.
Nooo. They wrecked two truck style mirrors.
Oversized rims?
This music matches perfectly the pathetic nature of this vehicle,only detail is that it didn't burst in flames after rollover,the tank was probably empty...
rollovers are fun only in a off road jeep
12:13 - What car is that blue van ? It looks like Škoda 1203 or like a TAZ Trnava.
+Jen pro moje potěšení It's probably a '66-'67 Chevy
So buy a VW Bus with training wheels. Rollover problem solved.
Yey! A hippie extinguisher!!
What this fails to take into account is that the average hippee in the back of that van was upwards of 250 pounds so the dead weight would have made it far less likely to tip over.
Needless to say, that was the WORST vehicle ever built by a European auto maker; People used to have their ankles broken in even MINOR crashes! The later Vanagon was literally 10 times better in a collision!
Give me a break. (pardon the pun) The Chevy van they used in the testing, as well as the Ford Econoline of the day would produce similar injuries.
Maybe but at least the Chevy and Ford could get out of their own way!
Have you ever watched films of Woodstock etc? Hippies were skinny, not fat.
Do I sense a bit of gloating on the part of the cameraman?
Why makes a turn that sharp going that fast in any car?! Next time put stock wheels on and don't cute the rear wheel well you tools.
Why are Americans willing to pay (stupid money) now for something so painfully slow
I like the music in the background
only safe at 13 MPH
Excuse me could you please pass the grey pou.....oops. 😜😜😜
That mûst be AREA 51..
NOOOOOOO
Year?
OH SNAP!
ho
they werent considering having 6 crouts adding weight in it
5:01 :)
This is really stupid testing :P
やっぱり転がっちゃうんだね…
+Mocking69 I had no idea what you were saying - but then I watched this video and have to say you are right! watch?v=f_sf_JRj5sM
Sans charge en plus
why😢😢😢
5.04 min 😱😨😥😢
Leon Grüssung
...looked to me like a bunch of stoner van nerds/bureaucrats taking the state if California for a spin...and are still roaring over their bongs at this footage.
Margaret Androkites ok? what up?
lose the flicker
unwatchable
Kombi: perigosa mas gostosa...
Torturing
lo\Ⓦ/ol
cruel
🙈😂😂😂😂😂
VW made some of the most unsafe vehicles that truly were unsafe at any speed.
Clearly this is the reason why VW is selling cars like mad in the US and, in the meantime, americrap manufacturers sell two-digit-numbers in Europe. Well, sound logical!
I hate this VW kill